Шпаргалка по "Английскому языку"

6. Post-Office. Telecommunications

(Lab. Workbooks: ‘Post Services of Asian Pacific Countries’, 2002),

                                                      ‘Telephoning’, 2004)

Postal Services

        Most letters and packages posted in Britain are dealt with by the Post Office, a public authority. It is divided into three parts, the Royal Mail, which delivers letters, Parcelforce and Datapost, which deliver larger packages, and Post Office Counters, which manages the country's many post offices. As well as selling stamps, post offices take in letters and packages that are to be sent by special delivery. Post offices also sell vehicle and television licences, pay out pensions and child benefit money, and sell greetings cards and stationery. In villages they are often combined with a newsagent's and general store. In recent years, many smaller post offices have been closed because they do not make a profit, though this often led to protests from local people.

        Mail (= letters, bills, etc.) is often called post in British English. When sending a letter, people can choose between two levels of service, first class or the cheaper second class. Normally, first-class mail is delivered the day after it is posted and second-class mail within two or three days. Letters are posted in red postboxes, also called letter boxes. Each has a sign giving times of collections. Postmen also deliver mail each morning direct to homes and businesses. They put the mail through a flap in the door, which is also called a letter box. In the country they travel round in red vans, but in towns and villages it is common to see a postman on a bicycle.

        The system that deals with mail in the US, the US Postal Service (USPS), is an independent part of the government. Its head is the Postmaster General. Mail carriers, sometimes called mailmen though many are women, deliver mail to homes and businesses once a day. Most homes have mailboxes fixed outside, near the door. It is very uncommon for a house to have a letter box in the door for letters. People whose houses are a long way from the road have a special rural mailbox by the road. This has a flag which the mail carrier raises so that the people in the house can see when they have mail. To mail (= send) a letter, people leave it on top of their own mailbox or put it in one of the many blue mailboxes in cities and towns. Every address in the US includes an abbreviation for the name of the state and a ZIP code, which is used to help sort the mail. Post offices sell stamps and deal with mail that has to be insured. Most cities have one post office which stays open until late. Americans complain about the Postal Service, but it usually does an efficient job at a reasonable price.

        In both Britain and the US only the Post Office or Postal Service can deliver mail, though private couriers, are allowed to offer express services. This competition has hurt the postal services. They have lost further business as electronic communication, such as e-mail, has become more common.

Vocabulary

post-box/letter-box/mail-box – почтовый ящик

deliver post/the mail – доставлять почту

handle the operations – производить  операции

parcel post – прием и  отправка посылок

money order – почтовый перевод

post restate/general delivery – отдел “до востребования”

postcard – почтовая карточка, открытка

stamped envelope – конверт с маркой

postal rates/postage – почтовая оплата

insure one’s  parcel – застраховать  посылку 

make delivery double sure – гарантировать доставку

wrap and pack a parcel – упаковать, завернуть посылку

printed matter - бандероль

registered letter – заказное письмо

sender/addressee – отправитель/адресат 

receipt - квитанция 

trace one's letter – разыскать письмо

special delivery – доставка со спец. нарочным 

write legibly – писать разборчиво

forward one’s mail – переслать почту  по новому адресу 

foot the bill – оплатить счет 

sign for smth – расписаться за что-либо 

reduced charge/discount – льготный тариф/скидка

frank a stamp – погасить марку

cable/wire - телеграмма 

dead letter – невостребованное письмо

letter with declared value – письмо с объявленной  ценностью 

stick a stamp on/to paste an – наклеить марку на конверт

envelope –  конверт

scales - весы

sealing-wax - сургуч

fill in a form – заполнять бланк

payment on delivery – оплата при доставке

writing/note paper – почтовая/писчая бумага

Answer the questions

1. When did you last go to the local post-office? What was it that you wanted to do there?
2. Do you get your morning papers with the first delivery?
3. Why is it advisable to have a parcel insured if it contains something of value?
4. What can you learn from a postmark stamped on an envelope?
5. What services does your local post-office offer the public?
6. How much is the postage of an ordinary letters (a registered letter)?
7. Does the postage depend on the weight of the letter?
8. How should envelopes with valuable papers enclosed be sent?
9. What happens to letters whose addressees cannot be found? Are they returned to the sender? What should be done to make that possible?
10. Is there any charge for the address of a telegram?
11. How does one mark an envelope if one wishes the letter to follow the addressee to a new address?
12. Postage stamps are of interest to collectors, aren’t they?

Give Russian equivalents

To take for granted; to deliver mail; to handle operations; post restante letter; money order, registered letter; postal rates; parcels and packages; to insure one's parcel; to cost a trifle; to make delivery double sure; wrapping